The present invention relates generally to body protectors for athletes engaged in sports such as motorcycle riding and, more specifically, to body protectors having air cells beneath a hard or semirigid outer shell for absorbing impact.
Athletes engaged in off-road motorcycle racing and motocross require protection to avoid injury from flying rock and debris and from abrasions during a fall U.S. Pat. No. 4,467,475 issued to Gregory et al. describes an upper-body protector having a semirigid plastic shell, which includes a chest portion, a back portion, and shoulder epaulets. The parts are connected with webbing to allow relative movement. U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,505 issued to Flosi et al. describes a similar protector having a one-piece shoulder portion connected to a chest portion. Epaulets cover the joint between the shoulder portion and an arm portion.
The hard shell of these body protectors reduces injury to the rider from flying rocks kicked up by motorcycle wheels as well as from sharp protuberances on the motorcycle that might impale the rider during a fall. However, these protectors do not provide adequate impact absorption. Flosi et al. use a thin foam layer to absorb impact. Foam is an economical and well-known material that provides a degree of impact absorption. However, the material has a relatively low spring constant and compresses locally without spreading the impact over a large area. To provide substantial impact protection, a foam layer must be extremely thick, increasing protector weight and bulk. Neither foam nor other padding materials known in the art provide adequate impact protection with a minimal contribution to bulk and weight.
Practitioners in the art have used air cells to provide impact protection. U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,323 issued to Gwon describes a head and body protector for the martial arts having large, strategically located air chambers on the outside of a semirigid shell. A layer of foam is bonded to the inside of the shell adjacent to the wearer. Although the air chambers of Gwon afford protection against the impact of a blunt object, they could easily be ruptured by a sharp object. No provision is made for spreading the impact over a larger number of pressurized cells.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,549 issued to Herder et al. describes a helmet having a hard shell and an eggcrate-shaped liner defining a plurality of air cells. The liner is semirigid and therefore provides substantial mechanical resistance to impact; the pneumatic resistance of the air cells provides only a secondary line of protection.
Practitioners in the art have used integral pumps to inflate air chambers in footwear for improving the fit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,403 issued to Walkhoff describes a ski boot having a rigid outer shell and air chambers that are inflated using an integral foot-activated pump in the heel of the ski boot.
Practitioners have also used air chambers in athletic footwear such as running shoes and tennis shoes. The purpose of air chambers in footwear uppers is to improve fit and not to provide substantial impact protection. The air chambers in the sole are typically at atmospheric pressure.
Practitioners in the art have not successfully incorporated air cell material for primary impact absorption into a body protector having a semirigid outer shell. Furthermore, the cell materials known in the art cannot be conveniently maintained at a desired pressure. These problems and deficiencies are clearly felt in the art and are solved by the present invention in the manner described below.